Udrim, The Briar King
“In the garden of illusions, truth wears many masks and fights with many swords.”
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Realm of Influence: The Feywild
Current Status: Lord of the Changing Courts of the Feywild, Ally of Ahriman, Strategist of the Eastern Front
Art of the various forms of Udrim
Summary
Udrim is one of the most enigmatic and strategic higher gods in Kol’s pantheon. Known as the “Lord of Shifting Seasons” and “The Briar King,” Udrim is a lawful paladin deity of order, oaths, memory, and transformation—who governs the Feywild in its most complex and layered state. While traditionally worshiped by archfey, changelings, dryads, and ancient covens, his following has grown in recent centuries to include historians, oathsworn knights, and planar scholars. His presence in Kol is elusive, appearing only in dreams or through masked avatars within the mists of his realm.
Udrim rules from the Chrysalis Court, a grand fey domain that reshapes itself based on emotion, memory, and divine influence. His realm is a paradox of law and wildness: ancient laws written in ever-growing vines, and trials held beneath trees that whisper their verdicts. Despite his lawful alignment, Udrim permits a surprising amount of freedom within his realm—so long as one obeys their vows and honors bargains struck in earnest. Deception is allowed, but broken oaths carry severe and mystical penalties.
Although not widely worshiped in the material realm, Udrim’s influence touches every magical pact, seasonal change, and Fey-touched creature in Kol. Many magic users unknowingly invoke his name when binding familiars or casting illusionary glamours. His faithful are called the Verdant Vowed, and they operate in secretive circles or serve noble archfey families. Udrim is often depicted as a regal figure clad in thorned robes, his antlered crown sprouting blossoms and burning coals.
He is currently aligned with Saint Krajevi and Malthor, operating in cooperation with other divine factions. The Black Church has noted a sharp increase in Udrim's activities, particularly his manipulation of planar boundaries and the Feywild's growing instability. His involvement in upcoming conflicts is assured—but the nature of his motives remains cloaked in ambiguity, as with all things Fey. The Black Church, however, is incredibly cautious of Udrim’s ages-long alliance with Ahriman.
Tenets of Udrim
Oaths are Sacred. A vow sworn, no matter how small, becomes a binding thread in the web of fate.
Honor the Seasons. Change is not to be feared but embraced in accordance with its cycle.
Do Not Break the Mask. Secrets are sacred—unveiling them without consent is a sin.
Memory is Power. Remember those who came before, and do not forget your path.
Balance Chaos with Structure. The Feywild is wild, but within wildness lies a hidden order.
Structure of the Cult of Udrim
Thornsworn Primarch
The highest spiritual authority of Udrim’s cult. This figure acts as both oracle and general, wearing a ceremonial mask of woven thorns and vines. They are charged with interpreting omens and delivering Udrim’s rare direct commandments. The Primarch leads rituals during solstices and eclipses, when the boundary between Kol and the Feywild is weakest.
Seasonspeakers
Each of the four seasonal cycles is represented by a Seasonspeaker—Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. They interpret the shifting “moods” of Udrim and relay them to followers through dreams, illusion rites, and divination. Each Season governs different aspects: Winter (justice and silence), Spring (rebirth and love), Summer (war and passion), Autumn (wisdom and secrets).
Oathbinders
Responsible for sealing pacts, contracts, and divine oaths within the cult. They also act as enforcers and negotiators. Each Oathbinder is marked by a magical vine tattoo that grows with every vow fulfilled or broken. They act with authority in both religious and judicial matters within the cult.
Maskbearers
These are traveling priests, spies, and ritualists who wear stylized wooden masks enchanted with illusion. Their role is to spread Udrim’s worship discreetly, protect the Feywild’s boundaries, and recruit new members. They often engage in subtle diplomacy with local fey, nobles, and even arcane colleges.
The Cult of Udrim in the Age of Ruby
In the current Age of Ruby, Udrim’s influence is difficult to chart, but his agents have become far more active across Kol. The cult’s alliance with Ahriman makes it difficult to discern true motives and goals. The cult’s presence has been confirmed in arcane sanctuaries, deep forests, and among displaced Fey refugees. While most religions either declined or became corrupted following the halt of divine Judgments and the courts of Ansil, Auriel, and Ceslida becoming dormant, Udrim’s remained stable—perhaps because his worship already operated in cycles of change and adaptation.
The Cult of Udrim operates more like a secretive society than a conventional church. Its rituals are held in hidden glades, ruins thick with ivy, or mirrored sanctuaries. The Cult maintains old shrines, Fey rings, and illusion-woven groves once used to channel divine energy. These places are slowly becoming hubs for fey incursions—both benevolent and not. Udrim’s servants claim to act in the name of balance, but they are not passive. Magical experiments, oath-bound artifacts, and ancient bloodlines are being tracked, studied, and, if necessary, “bound.” Members of the Black Church, especially those near Qyn’ki and the Abandoned Lands, have begun documenting and observing their movements.
The Black Church has identified Udrim, Saint Krajevi, and Malthor as part of a growing alliance under Ahriman. These deities are coordinating movements across multiple realms and divine courts, and while the intent isn’t fully understood, it is clearly tied to something apocalyptic. This behavior has triggered emergency divinations by high-ranking Black Church mystics, though results remain unclear. Feywild crossings have multiplied, and travelers speak of strange hybrid creatures, whispered bargains, and eerie melodies drifting through the trees. Udrim's forces in the Feywild have begun preparing massive ritual sites and summoning circles. These do not appear destructive in nature, but they are woven into the leyline network and mirror historical patterns tied to Annwn Tân Parhaol, the prophesied end-war. While Udrim is not viewed as openly hostile, the scale and secrecy of his preparations are deeply concerning.
For adventurers and followers of the Black Church, monitoring Udrim’s cult may become necessary, not out of hatred—but to understand the threads he weaves across fate, memory, and war.
Primordial History of Udrim
Udrim, along with his great-grandfather Saint Krajevi, originates from the Forgotten Realms, the world that preceded Kol. Before Kol was reborn in the Great Crush, Udrim served as a divine steward of arcane contracts and seasons. His sense of honor and duty led him to ally with Krajevi in a desperate effort to save their reality from collapse. This noble intention, however, placed both in a precarious position.
It was during this time that Ahriman approached them, offering solutions veiled in contracts and prophecies. Desperate to preserve their line and divine dominions, they accepted a series of bargains. These deals gave Udrim and Krajevi the power to survive the end—but bound them to Ahriman’s long game. Though neither appears corrupted, they now serve ends aligned with his designs, willingly or not.
After Kol was formed, Udrim and Krajevi emerged as victors in divine battles across Fey and Outer Realms. They deposed several gods of evil and neutral alignment, replacing them with allies of Ahriman. While these gods are not necessarily always malevolent, they are all part of a structure that ultimately supports Ahriman’s influence across multiple spheres.
This makes Udrim a deeply ambiguous figure. Is he a noble survivor caught in the web of cosmic fate—or a loyal strategist helping to reshape Kol under a shadowed crown?
The Blood War and the Feywild
The Blood War—a cosmic battle between Ahriman’s devils and Renji’s demons—has spread across realms. Traditionally a conflict of Lower Planes, it now spills into unexpected spaces. Due to Udrim and Krajevi’s alliance with Ahriman, the Feywild has become an indirect warfront. This has had catastrophic consequences.
The Feywild, a place once defined by mirth and mischief, now harbors scars of rage, fear, and law. Entire groves have become crystallized fortresses. Courts of laughter and sorrow alike have turned into strategic encampments. Fey creatures now act with military precision—many forming “Seelie Legions” and “Unseelie Crusades,” responding to orders given in Udrim’s name.
Emotion, action, and memory—all vital threads of the Feywild—are now distorted. As the realm is shaped by what its inhabitants feel and believe, the war has permanently altered it. The Black Church has documented leyline collapses and psychic ruptures at crossing points. They fear this war may soon spill further into Kol.
Ritual and Dogma of the Cult of Udrim
The Oathgrafting
A rite where initiates inscribe a personal vow into their skin using illusion-forged ink. These magical oaths glow faintly when challenged and flare if broken. It is said that those who break their vow are pulled into a dream-trial by the spirits of the Feywild.
Memory’s Grove
Once a year, worshipers gather to bury an item of sentimental value in a sacred grove. This ritual binds a piece of themselves to the cycles of Udrim. The item is never to be unearthed—only remembered.
The Crown of Seasons
A symbolic ritual where four masks (one for each season) are donned by the faithful in sequence. Each mask invokes different prayers, representing emotion, wisdom, transformation, and duty. To wear all four is to walk the path of Udrim.
Prayers of the Cult of Udrim
“Leaf of Oath, Branch of Will”
A whispered prayer asking Udrim to witness a vow. Usually uttered when sealing deals or swearing fealty. “Let this promise root itself in truth. Let no wind sway it.”
“Shadows Remember”
A prayer to keep memory strong, especially among the elderly or wounded. Often paired with rituals of restoration or grief.
“To Wear the Mask”
This prayer is given before rituals of illusion or diplomacy. “I wear this mask, not to hide, but to protect the truth beneath it.”
Hymns of the Cult of Udrim
“The Shifting Crown”
A hymn that changes lyrics with the seasons. Its melody mimics birdsong and fey flute.
“Court of the Blooming Thorn”
This somber chant honors fallen heroes and faithful. The final verse always ends with a whispered name.
“In Dreams, We Return”
Sung before sleep or travel. It’s believed that repeating this hymn draws Udrim’s eye in the dreaming.
Sermons of the Cult of Udrim
“The Root and the Mask”
This sermon teaches that every oath is a seed. Some grow into roses. Others into brambles.
“Courts Beyond the Veil”
A sermon that explores the layered structure of the Feywild and its hidden truths. It warns against confusing whimsy with weakness.
“The Fire Beneath Spring”
An exploration of passion within order. Spring is not softness—it is the fury of rebirth.
